History of the Brooks Case
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del.icio.usJune 21, 2006: Boy, 17, charged in girl's killing
BY DEB GRUVER AND STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle
Chelsea Brooks - nine months pregnant and just out of eighth grade - was strangled in a contract killing, prosecutors alleged Tuesday in documents charging a 17-year-old with capital murder and kidnapping.
The state plans to prosecute Everett Gentry as an adult, but he would not be eligible for the death penalty because he was not 18 at the time of the crime of which he is accused. Tuesday was the first time Gentry was identified by name as a suspect.
Two adults arrested in the case could face the death penalty if charged with the same crimes.
The complaint against Gentry is the first glimpse into how the well-liked Allison Middle School graduate died.
Chelsea disappeared June 9 from Skate South, near MacArthur and Hydraulic, after telling friends she was going to see her baby's father. Workers discover ed her partially buried body Thursday morning near a wheat field in Butler County.
The charges say that Gentry "on or about June 9" killed Chelsea "intenti onally and with premeditation by strangling her." The complaint says the killing was done "pursuant to a contract or agreement to kill" the girl.
Deputy District Attorney Ron Paschal said the crimes against Chelsea occurred in two counties - Sedgwick and Butler.
Prosecutors have not yet filed charges against the two men arrested, Theodore Burnett, 49, and Elgin "Ray-Ray" Robinson, 20. Chelsea's family says Robinson was the baby's father; a judge ordered Robinson to stay away from Chelsea earlier this year.
Tuesday, Sedgwick County District Court Judge Timothy Henderson set a hearing for Aug. 3 for the state's motion to try Gentry as an adult.
With his mother, Yolanda Davis, seated next to him, Gentry waived his right to a detention hearing. Henderson ordered him detained at the county's juvenile facility, saying Gentry was a danger to himself and others. According to court records, Gentry does not have a criminal history in Sedgwick County.
John Updegrove, supervisor of pupil accounting for the Wichita school district, said Gentry last attended school in April 2005 at East High School.
Several relatives in the courtroom wiped away tears during Gentry's appearance.
They hugged after the hearing in a hallway and outside the juvenile court on South Hydraulic.
Speaking for his family, an uncle, Tony Gentry, said, "We are praying for Chelsea's family."
Paschal, who heads juvenile cases, asked that because "the charges in this particular case are very serious" Gentry be given special consideration while detained, such as being separated from other inmates for his own protection and increased supervision.
Henderson said his authority over the detention facility was limited.
Gentry's lawyer, Eric Svoboda, said he would object to increased supervis ion if the point was to be punitive against his client.
Also Tuesday, Wichita police asked for the public's help finding a black-an d-silver Kyocera phone that Chelsea had borrowed from a friend the day she disappeared. The search focused on a 10-mile stretch of road in Butler County near where Chelsea was found. Midafternoon, Wichita Police Capt. Randy Landen announced the phone had been recovered but provided no details.
Investigators will check the phone for fingerprints, calls and text messages that could provide clues in the case, Landen said.